Stopper for bottles, jars, and similar containers



8, 1939- w. sgFRE EMAN 2,168,734

STOPPER FOR B OTTLES, JARS, AND SIMILAR CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 1, 1958 "lllll vi'llll/ Amm\ 4 y 3 //W EJYT'OIE I MAL/0A7 6 FEEEMfi STOPPED FOR B'OTTLES, JARS, AND SIMILAR CONTAINERS WiiliamSimonFreemamLeedgEngland' Application February 1, 1938, Serial No. 188,179

In Great Britain February 10, 1937 1 Claim.

pressure chamber, the wall of which is thin relatively to the diameter of the plug so as to be readily deformable and pressed by gas pressure, within the container, into close sealing contact with the container mouth.

The main object of the invention is to assist the action of the'gas pressure so as to obtain a better sealing eifect, and to this end the invention provides a wall at the mouth of the pressure chamber which partially closes same and which extends radially inwards from the bottom edge of the mouth of the pressure chamber so as to leave a reduced orifice through which the gas from inside the container gains access to the chamber. The effect of this wall at the mouth of the pressure chamber is to brace the side wall of the chamber without sacrificing the inherent resilience thereof, so that not only is undue inward distortion or squeezing-in of the side wall prevented when the plug part is inserted into the container mouth, but the bracing afforded by this wall serves also to prevent the bottom end of the plug side wall (from which the wall extends) from expanding as freely as the middle of the side wall. Thus the tendency is for the .whole plug and pressure chamber to assume a ball shape when the pressure enters, which naturally causes the plug side wall to press harder on the wall of the container mouth.

Subsidiary objects of the invention as will hereinafter appear are, to augment the sealing with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross section of one embodiment wherein the headconsists of a flexible skirt, l 5

Figure 2 is a similar cross section showing the plug fitted into the mouth of the container, and the skirt turned down to grip the outside of the mouth, and

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross section of 10 another embodiment having a flexible skirt.

In Figures 1 and 2 the stopper, which is made of rubber, consists of a plug part I whereof the interior is hollowed out to provide a gas pressure chamber 2 of elongated flattened shape 1 transversely of the plug with relatively thin and flexible sides, which form the plug walls, the outer surfaces of which have circumferential serrations 3 of saw teeth cross section. The bottom and top walls of the chamber are also rela- 0 tively thin and flexible, so that the whole plug part is readily deformable to enable the gas pressure to have the maximum eifect. Access to the chamber is had through a centrally disposed restricted orifice 4 opening through the bottom'wall 25 5 to the bottom surface of the plug which faces the interior of the container, this surface having formed therein a shallow conical recess 50 which constitutes a gas concentrating chamber collecting and leading'gas from the container to 80 the orifice; Without sacrificing the inherent resilience of the side wall of. the plug, the invention, by means of the inwardly extending wall 5, not only braces the side wall of the plug to prevent undue inward distortion or squeezing-in'of the plug side wall (when being inserted into the bottle neck), but what is more important, the bracing afforded by this wall 5 serves to prevent the inner or bottom end of the plug side wall from expanding as freely as at the middle of the side 0 wall, and thus the tendency is for the whole plug and pressure chamber to assume a ball shape when the pressure enters. This naturally causes the plug side wall to press harder on to the bottle neck. For the purpose of relieving the gas pressure if it rises beyond a predetermined amount, the top wall of the chamber 2 incorporates a blow-oil valve which conveniently consists of a slit S in the rubber adapted to open out if and when the safety pressure margin is exceeded.

The top wall or side of the inner gas chamber 2 is extended laterally and upwardly to provide an encircling flange I which constitutes a flexible skirt adapted to be turned down over and to grip the outside of the rim I of the container as will be seen from Figure 2. Although this skirt may have on its surface whichcontacts with the rim, deformable ribs or projections, for example similar to the saw teeth serrations 3 on the plug part, in the embodiment shown, the skirt is clamped to the rim by means 0! a ring 8 which is accommodated in a circumferential recess ll formed in the opposite surface of the skirt, 1. e. the surface which is an extension of the top wall of the inner gas chamber 2'. There may be two or more of theserecesses l0, but usually one will suiilce, it being preferably located near or at the point which comes opposite the bottom of the rim 8, the remaining portion turning under the rim as shown to thereby complete a very effective closure to the mouth of the container. It will be noted that owing to the resiliency of the relatively thin top wall of the inner gas chamber 2, this wall can snap upwardly as the skirt is turned down, so enabling a good and tight fit on the rim to be obtained.

The characteristics of the stopper shown in Figure 3 are similar to those of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2. In Figure 3, however, the inner gas chamber is of spherical shape with a somewhat deeper gas concentrating chamber, the embodiment being adapted for use with a container having asmaller mouth.

Instead of a head in the form of a flexible skirt, the improved stopper having the gas pressure chamber within the plug part, may have a solid head of greater diameter than that of the plug with the underneath surface recessed out to form a rim gripping flange, normally inturned and parallel to the plug wall, so that as the plug is fitted into the container mouth, the rim of the mouth passes into the recess to be gripped by the said flange. The rim gripping flange may have a re-entrant lip which makes a snug grip round the said rim where this is in the form oi. a flange about the mouth of the container. In this form of the invention the outer surface 01' the plug may be serrated or roughened as before described.

In containers, such as carboys. where gas pressure in excess of atmosphere is present when the container is closed. an ordinary plug-in stopper would be blown oil by the pressure of gas, but by employing the stopper according to the invention the pressure chamber within the plug part enables this gas pressure to be utilised in maintaining the stopper firmly in position, the gas passing from the container through the narrow orifice into the pressure chamber wherein it expands and exerts lateral pressure on the walls of the plug suflicient to grip it tightly to the container mouth. Thus an eiiective closure of such containers can be obtained with a plug-in stopper when constructed according to the present invention.

I claim:

A stopper for bottles, jars and similar containers comprising a resilient body adapted to be squeezed into the mouth oi the container, said body having a cavity and formed at its lower edge with an integral annular bracing wall extending inwardly from the edge of the cavity to a point shortoi the center of the body to form an internal gas pressure chamber whereby the presence of gas under pressure in said chamber will expand the side wall 01 the body between the top and bottom limits oi! the cavities into firm engagement with the. inner side of the neck of the container, and a flexible annular elastic skirt formed with the upper edge of the body of the stopper and adapted to be stretched downwardly into embracing relation with the external mouth portion of the container.

WILLIAM SIMON FREEMAN. 

